Did President Truman change his policies during the Korean War?
It’s not entirely clear what Truman’s objectives were at the start of the war. The US was not in prime fighting condition; its massive WW2 army had been largely demobilised. Truman certainly didn’t want to start WW3 but he did want to contain communism and to check the North Korean invasion of the South. It’s uncertain how far he’d thought beyond that. But I’d say there were two changes of policy. The first was the decision, after a series of US victories and the recapture of Seoul, to press into the North past the 38th parallel. This wasn’t just containment of the communists but an intention to defeat them completely. The next change came when, in light of this decision, the USSR and China (PRC) announced that they would help resist this American invasion. In face of skiful Chinese attacks the American forces were forced back but eventually under General MacArthur’s dogged offensive (‘the meatgrinder’) the Americans regained the 38th parallel. At this stage, much to MacArthur’s very p
